Oregon police officers are rarely held accountable for undue violence. Here are six possible reasons. Whenever police officers use lethal force, they well know there could be consequences, including being charged and prosecuted by the district attorney. C ...
9 Jun 2015 - Jason Renaud an...
For a big act, each detail is crucial; same goes for Portland’s DOJ settlement Glam rock bad boys Van Halen included an odd item in their contract rider: a bowl of M&Ms, but no brown ones. A single brown M&M in the bowl, and the band wouldn’t play ...
12 Apr 2015 - Jason Renaud an...
Jenny Westberg and Jason Renaud from the Mental Health Association of Portland talk about the City Auditor's appraisal of the Portland Police Training Division The city auditor’s March 2015 appraisal of the Portland Police Training Division is devast ...
19 Mar 2015 - Jason Renaud an...
In a time when many urban environments are becoming more draconian in their approach to banning people experiencing homelessness from public spaces, Portland may be on the verge of bucking that trend. This summer, the Portland Police Bureau put 10 police ...
4 Dec 2014 - Israel Bayer
Police make up a peculiar subculture in society. Often they have their own moral code of behavior, an “us against them” attitude, and a history of standing shoulder-to-shoulder behind a “blue wall of silence.” On Oct. 22, Mayor Charlie Hales and the City ...
14 Nov 2014 - Kate Lore
Portland City Council recently voted to appeal U.S. District Judge Michael Simon’s order requiring hearings with the judge, advocates and the city on the progress in maintaining the police reforms settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ). In voting ...
6 Nov 2014 - SR editorial board
The tragedy of the Michael Brown killing is rocking the nation. It should. For anyone living in an urban environment, especially people of color and the poor — the events of Michael Brown and the community response is not surprising. It’s hard to shift th ...
29 Aug 2014 - Israel Bayer
The Mental Health Association of Portland remains firm on Department of Justice v. City of Portland. The position elucidated in this column has been our unvarying stance since the outset of the lawsuit, and, barring sudden, cataclysmic changes descending ...
7 Aug 2014 - Jason Renaud
After the third year in a row of a disappointingly vague report from the Portland Police Bureau on its cooperation with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, frustrated City Council members appear ready to revisit Portland’s nebulous relationship with the FBI. ...
16 Apr 2014 - Becky Straus
When the snowstorm ended and the ice thawed — there was a lot to celebrate. During the snowstorm, a coordinated emergency effort led by the Portland Housing Bureau and others brought together an army of city and county workers and volunteers to do outreac ...
15 Feb 2014 - SR editorial board